Mail-bag catcher.



I. S. PEEK MAIL BAG OATGHER" APPLIOAI'ION FILED mu s, 1908.

909,659. I Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

JOSEPH S. PEEK, OF KERRVILLE, TEXAS.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 8, 1908.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Serial No. 431,592.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosnrH S. PEEK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kerrville, in the county of Kerr and State of Texas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to mail bag catchers, the object of the inventionbeing to provide a simple, cheap and practical catcher for the purposedescribed which may be folded into and out of the car door opening andwhich embodies means whereby, when the bag comes in contact with thecatcher, the latter is dropped and the catcher arm holding the bag iscaused to automatically swing the bag inward through the car dooropening within reach of the operator.

With the above general object in View the invention consists in thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein fullydescribed illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of thecomplete apparatus, showing the catcher about to engage a mail bag. Fig.2 is an enlarged detail horizontal section through the turn post and theadjacent parts, and Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of the lower portion ofthe same parts.

The catcher of this invention comprises essentially a turn post 1 whichis journaled in its upper and lower ends in bearings 2 and 3 securedrespectively to the car at points adjacent to the top and bottom of thecar door opening at.

At a suitable point between the top and bottom of the turn post 1, ahorizontally projecting arm 5 is secured thereto and to the outer end ofsaid catcher arm 5 and extending in a forward direction therefrom aresecured oppositely arranged spring jaws 6 and 7 adapted to engage,clasp, and hold the mail bag. One of the spring arms 6 is made ofsuflicient width to enable a longitudinal slot 8 to be formed therein,which slot is adapted to receive a part of the opposite spring arm 7 asshown in Fig. 1, whereby one of the spring arms is adapted to interfitand interlock with the other arm.

The body portions of the spring arms 6 and which the bag is received,the bag acting on the diverging extremities of said arms to spring thearms apart and obtain entrance to the space in rear of the inter-fittingand interlocking portions of said arms.

The turn post 1 is provided with a crank arm 11 extending outwardtherefrom and having attached thereto one end of a contractile spring12- the opposite end of which is connected to the opposite side of thedoor frame at the point 13, the tension of said spring being exerted toswing the catcher arm 5 inward from the position shown in Fig. 1. Inorder to hold the catcher arm in the position shown in Fig. l, I employa gravity latch l i which is pivotally mounted at 15 on a bracket 16secured to the door frame, the latch being adapted to drop by gravityfrom the full line position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to the dotted lineposition. shown in Fig. 3. lVhen in its holding position, the point ofthe latch is supported on a rest shoulder 17 on the turn post 1 and alsobears against a stop shoulder 18 on the post, the said shoulders inconnection with the latch 14: serving to hold the post locked in theposition shown in Fig. 1 with the catcher arm 5 projecting outward inposition to catch the bag. WVhen the bag strikes the catcher, the arm 5is moved backward far enough to release the latch 1a which drops belowthe shoulder 17, and the spring 12 then acts to turn the post 1 andswing the catcher arm 5 and bag supported thereby inward through thedoor opening.

Any suitable stand or crane may be used for supporting the mail bag, thelatter being illustrated at 19 as supported by a pair of bag holdingarms 20 and 21 secured to a standard 22 supported by a suitable framework such as legs or braces 23, the holder or crane serving to supportthe bag in proper position to be caught by the spring jaws 6 and 7 ofthe catcher device.

Having described the invention, I claim,

1. A mail bag catcher comprising a turn post mounted in the car dooropening, a catcher arm projecting laterally therefrom, spring jaws onsaid arm for engaging the bag, a spring acting on the post to swing saidarm inward, and means for locking the post to hold the catcher arm inits operative position.

2. A mail bag catcher comprising a turn post, a catcher arm projectinglaterally therefrom, means for automatically swinging said i and adaptedto move out of engagement arm, and spring bag catching jaws carriedtherewith and release the same as the bag is by said arm and having ayielding interfitcaught by the catcher arm, substantially as tingengagement with each other, substandescribed. 5 tially as described. Intestimony whereof I affix my signature 15 3. A mail bag catchercomprising a turn 1 in presence of two witnesses.

post, a catcher arm projecting laterally from JOSEPH S. PEEK. said post,a spring exerting tension to turn \V1tnesse-s: said post and move thecatcher arm inward, FREDERICK NYo,

10 and a gravity latch engaging the turn post W. T. KRIESEL.

